Austere Management of Traumatic Thyroid Cartilage Laceration in a Peripheral Military Medical Unit: A Case Report

Abstract

Background: Laceration of the thyroid cartilage can often be accompanied by trauma to tracheal rings. Hence securing the airway, followed by repair of the thyroid cartilage should be the approach for managing such injuries in emergency.

Case Summary: 23 yrs old male reported with alleged history of self-inflicted deep laceration on the anterior aspect of the neck through a sharp object. After securing the airway and applying compression on the wound, patient was taken to operating theatre, and the wound was evaluated under general anesthesia. Intraoperatively, bilateral anterior jugular veins and left external jugular vein were lacerated along with the thyroid cartilage. All the vessels were ligated and thyroid cartilage repair was performed using non absorbable sutures after aligning the cartilage anatomy.

Conclusion: Lacerated thyroid cartilage requires urgent surgical repair as it forms a large part of the laryngeal framework and may be associated with compromise of the airway.